The Barna Group published some harrowing statistics about the millennial generation in late 2021. The study quoted the following: The Millennials are the largest generation in the United States, making up one-quarter of the U.S. population and one-third of the U.S. adult population. 74% of them believe that all faiths are equal, 27% do not associate with any faith at all, and 43% of millennials don’t know, don’t care, or don’t believe God exists. 56% of them believe moral truth is up to the individual and only a shocking 9% of millennials believe in a biblical worldview at all (excerpts from Barna 2021).
There is obviously a myriad of reasons for this but the one that I would like to talk about is—purpose. It may come as a surprise to some, but I believe a major reason for millennials falling away from the faith is because much of the body of Christ is not living a purposed-life. Despite the Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren being one of the highest best-selling books of all time, it would seem that a majority of people are not living out what God has called them to. People living in the purposes and promises of God have great cultural influence and it would seem that many churches are not affecting American culture in a significant way or, even worse, the churches are dying out altogether. If this is true, as I believe it is, what is getting in the way of the body of Christ stepping into their God-given promises and purposes?
I believe the answer is—discouragement. I have seen some friends get a vision for their life that thrills them and strengthens their faith. But when I reconnect with them months or years later, it seems as if something has stopped them from pursuing that vision. When life comes knocking on our door, it can be very difficult to see outside our circumstances. Many Christians are so crippled by the pain in life that they never become all that God wants for them to become and it breaks my heart. Look around and you will see dads and moms scraping by trying to pay the bills, crippling anxiety and depression that is overwhelming a multitude these days, and a divided country with everyone living in the fear of being cancelled or dying from a pandemic. Never was there a time I know of where so many need to hear Jesus saying to them, “It’s ok that you are not ok, I haven’t forgotten you. I promise that I love you and eventually, it will be ok. As a matter of fact, it will be more than ok, it will be amazing —Trust me, son. Have faith, daughter. Daddy is here and He has such plans for your future.”
I think it is important to remember that between the promise and the fulfillment of that promise—there is a process. It took David about twenty years from being called as king to becoming king, Joseph was thirteen or more years from when he had the dreams until those dreams were fulfilled, and the Israelites spent forty years in the wilderness before crossing the Jordan into the land of milk and honey. They all endured a process before they could step into their promise and purpose.
“God has done the miraculous to help His people step into who He called them to become and He will do it for you too.”
The real question is, how we can sustain the promise through the process so that we are ready to step fully into who God made us to be?
The word of God has the solution to every problem we face. Here is a selection from Luke 2:19-24:
“But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived. When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”” (NIV)
In this scripture we see four powerful steps to give us the strength to hold on to the promises and purposes of our lives through the process.
1 | The Power of Remembrance
Bill Johnson often quotes the phrase, “We move from glory to glory but it’s hell in the hallways.” This describes a believer’s life very well. When my students are struggling with life issues, I say to them that life often contains the good and the bad at the same time (though I believe He graces us with more good days than bad). Luke 2 says, “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” And there is wisdom in what Mary does here. She stops and chooses to ponder what has just happened in Bethlehem. She remembers the events that just took place. Remembering is a spiritual discipline that can help sustain us when things get hard.
When we are struggling, it is pertinent to remember what God has done in our own life. Write it down, put it places you can see it. God has helped in the past and He will help in the future. Our breakthrough from the past is our breakthrough for the future and even someone else’s breakthrough from the past might be our breakthrough for the future and vice versa. If you are struggling with that and you can’t remember what God has done in your own life or someone else’s, then look to scripture. Look at all the fulfilled promises in the Bible. God has done the miraculous to help His people step into who he called them to become and He will do that for you too. You see, remembering does four things: 1) It reminds us of who God is, 2) It reminds us of who we are, 3) It reminds us of what God has done, and 4) It shows us what God will do.
2 | The Power of Praise
“The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” (NIV)
This should come as no surprise to anyone but there is something about praising the Lord that is good for the soul. The Lord doesn’t need our praise but He, in His divine wisdom, knew that praising Him would bless us. There are too many Bible verses to count that mention praise and its benefits. The Psalms alone give us countless types of praises and situations where praise is the answer to the problem. Praise is cyclical. Praise is both the natural response to God working evidently in your life AND praise creates a spiritual environment where God can work evidently in your life. Praise is a self-fulfilling cycle that benefits the one who is praising the Lord. Praise is the solution to our problems. When we are struggling, we need to start praising Jesus and I promise that something good will come of it.
3 | The Power of Prophecy
“On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.” (NIV)
Scripture says, “the tongue has the power of life and death…”—Proverbs 18:21 (NIV). We often spend more time in church hearing about how the tongue can cause death…James spends a significant time dealing with the tongue, but the tongue can also give life. That is the benefit of a good, prophetic word. Not every person is a prophet but everyone can prophesy. To prophesy means to speak out what God is saying in encouragement. We should be in the process of listening to the Lord and sharing His heart for others. I find that God is rarely silent, we only have to be connected to what He wants to talk about. Cultivating a good prayer life is essential to prophesying. We should have regular conversations with God to understand how He speaks and to hear what He is saying.
The times that I have received a solid, prophetic word from someone else, I end up being encouraged. During those moments, I feel like God cares about my life and reveals to me that there is more. A good word from the Lord provides a big picture vision of what is happening in our lives and what is happening in life around us. It helps us see our circumstances and the world with God’s eyes, and that is very freeing. The prophetic calls the future into the present, breaks the chains of bondage, sets people free, and gives direction to our lives.
4 | The Power of Tradition
“When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, ‘Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord’), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: ‘a pair of doves or two young pigeons.’” (NIV)
I also call this the power of normalcy. We instinctively know the right things to do - when we are doing them, and when we aren’t. Sometimes, we just need to do the things we know to do. In this scripture, Mary and Joseph engage in the traditions of the Jewish faith. This is a very healthy part of sustaining us through the process. Good traditions and habits of life are very good for us. However, traditions, can be abused. Certain traditions and traditionalism have been the reason denominationalism and theocracy have plagued the church. We are creatures of habit and we can so easily end up idolizing the tradition rather than Giver of good things. But our good and healthy traditions and habits can deepen our relationship with Him. Developing a normal routine of holiness is both good for the soul and powerful to sustain.
What now? At least one generation in America needs you living fully in your purpose…so don’t give up. Do not let the weight of life keep you from stepping into the person God called you to be. America and our world need people who are saved and healed from their pain and their past. We need people to discover their God-given purposes. We need healed and purposed people actively reaching out to a world who needs Jesus. We need people who will draw others to Jesus and solve our cultural problems for the glory of God. We need you. Your promise is coming. He is preparing you for your purpose. There is more ahead… get ready!
Works Cited: Holy Bible. New International Version, Zondervan Publishing House, 1984. Barna, George. New Insights into the Generation of Growing Influence: Millennials In America. Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, 2021.